Local Lodge 359

Vancouver, British Columbia

Hilary Peach’s first poetry book out now

BOILERMAKERS AND ARTISTS have quite a bit in common says Hilary Peach, a Local 359 (Vancouver, British Columbia) member who wields a welding torch as well as a pen. She finds that many artists acquire day jobs in the trades. As an artist who is skilled in several mediums, and as a Boilermaker, she understands why.

“Boilermakers are welders and mechanics, fabricators and riggers,” Peach says, noting that likewise, interdisciplinary artists master a variety of different art forms. That’s something that drew her to the union.

Rio Tinto’s Kitimat plant ups production, cuts pollution

THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY has been a primary economic driver for the town of Kitimat, British Columbia, for some 60 years. But the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter located there — featured in National Geographic as the largest in the world when it was built in the 1950s — was due for an upgrade to modernize its operations and reduce environmental emissions.

Volunteers donate skills to heritage society

VOLUNTEERS FROM LODGE 359 (Burnaby, British Columbia) have been connecting with history and the work of past generations of boilermakers by restoring steam-powered equipment at the Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society at Port Alberni.

Twenty-seven Boilermaker dependents earn awards totaling $50,000

THE BOILERMAKERS’ International Executive Council scholarship committee announced the winners of its 2014 scholarship program this past April. The committee awarded $50,000 to 28 recipients, with $40,000 being allocated to U.S. applicants and $10,000 to Canadian applicants.

12 compete at BCIT in Vancouver, British Columbia

THE TEAM OF Brad Lewis and Jason Dubreuil won the 2014 Canadian Boilermaker Graduate Apprenticeship Competition held June 24-26 at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver.

Lewis, Local 146 (Edmonton, Alberta), and Dubreuil, Local 128 (Toronto, Ontario), were among 12 graduate apprentices from across Canada who participated in the biennial event, which is planned and executed by the Boilermakers National Training Trust Fund (NTTF), Canada.